The present invention relates to sonication apparatus, particularly for use in immunology, microbiology and clinical chemistry research and analysis laboratories.
In various clinical laboratory operations there arises the need to use sonication. The need arises in such situations as: the disruption and fractionation of cells; cell fusion; suspension and dispersion of bacteria, viruses, chromosomes, and small particles; timed mixing of two-phase chemical and biochemical reactants; and the cleaning of microsurgical specimens and instruments. For example, sonication is used in a fluorescence-enhancement assay for measuring immunosuppressors. In the assay, peripheral blood lymphocytes are activated with mitogens in standard microtiter culture trays. Changes in lymphocyte DNA content are quantified with a reagent formulation containing mithramycin, the fluorescence of which is enhanced on binding to DNA in the presence of MgCl.sub.2. Cells are solubilized using sonication and fluorescence is measured with a photoncounting fluorometer.
Heretofore, the sonication has been done manually using a microtip sonicator probe inserted individually into the contents of each sample container, or alternatively by inserting single samples individually into a standard inverted cuphorn sonicator. As a consequence, assays such as the above-mentioned type have been restricted to selected research situations, because it is not feasible to manually process large numbers of samples as required in clinical situations. Presently available, large sonicator baths which have been designed for cleaning instruments and materials, cannot generate sufficient magnitudes of sonic energy uniformly throughout the baths for disruption-dispersion of array samples introduced inside secondary sample containers.